The University of the West Indies is rebranding its Open Campus as the Global Campus, as part of a strategic evolution for the university, the UWI has said.
A multifaceted Implementation Committee is being set up to create a roadmap to transition the Open Campus to the Global Campus, with incremental changes anticipated from this month and full operations by January 2024. The decision was made by the University Council, the highest decision-making body of the 75-year-old regional university.
“The tremendous legacy of the Open Campus and the role it has for the future can only be secured in the context of fundamental restructuring and reengineering,” said Vice-Chancellor Professor Sir Hilary Beckles.
The UWI also announced a for-profit, entrepreneurial, income-generating Business School, to be named the International School for Development Justice (ISDJ) within the UWI Global Campus. Centred on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), it will offer postgraduate academic programmes online, leveraging the excellence of the Open Campus, it said.
Pro Vice-Chancellor Dr Francis Severin said the rebranding shows the university’s faith in the Open Campus’ expertise in asynchronous online delivery, enabling the university’s global reach. “It depicts that we are part of a bigger movement that will lead the way into the global sphere,” he said.
Vice-Chancellor Beckles said the evolution to the Global Campus is a strategic move and a natural next step in the university’s global strategy. “We anticipate the Global Campus will be a major pillar in the Revenue Revolution phase of our Triple A Strategy as it takes our excellent programmes online to regional and global markets,” he said.
The change comes as the university, which began in 1948 as the University College of the West Indies marks its 75th anniversary. The Open Campus itself evolved from the Extra-Mural Department in 1948 to the School of Continuing Studies, UWIDITE, UWIDEC and finally the Open Campus in 2008. (BT/PR)
